July 15th

You probably know about the Three Simple Rules: 
 

Do no harm. 
Do good. 
Stay in love with God


Those rules are a summary of the General Rules for Methodists as penned by John Wesley.  A modern commentator, Reuben Job, has written 3 simple questions to go along with these rules: 

Who is God?
Who Am I? 
Who Are We Together? 
 I thought I’d share some of Bishop Job’s insights into these questions over the next few weeks. 

First question:  Who is God?

We could say a lot about that that question. Here are a few things to think about:*

1. Don’t be content with thinking God is my God or your God. God belongs to no one but gives love, grace and blessing to everyone. 

2. Don’t be content thinking God is tame and that you know what God is thinking. God shakes us up and sends us out into the world trembling with awe and amazement.
 
3. Don’t be content with thinking that God offers just a band-aid for our wounded souls. God gives radical mercy, justice and love — God forgives our sins and wipes them away just as soon as we offer that same forgiveness to those who may have wronged us. God mends our broken relationships and sends us on our way full of hope, confidence, trust and strength. 

4. Don’t be content thinking that God is “nice.” God has an edge, a passion for justice and love. God’s love for all remind us that God wants what is good for all. 

I guess the bottom line is that to know God we have to want to know the real God of scripture — God who is made known to us in the life and teachings and death of Jesus Christ — and not someone we make up in our heads. 

Seek the Lord while he may be found;
Call on him while he is near. 
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts. 
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. 
          ~Isaiah 55:6. 

Blessings, 
Pastor Mary 


*insights from Three Simple Questions: Knowing the God of Love, Hope and Purpose by Reuben P. Job (Abingdon, 2011), pp. 13-20).